Dr. Nkinsi has spent the last thirty-one years working in a variety of capacities in developing countries as leader in the global health field. Dr. Nkinsi received his medical degree from the University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and his Master of Public Health (Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics) from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. While his professional assignments have varied, he has remained professionally active in primary health care, infectious diseases including HIV/ AIDS prevention, maternal and child health.

Dr. Nkinsi began his career with the Congolese Ministry of Public Health in 1983 as the Chief Medical Officer of the Kikwit Health District. His responsibilities included general practice at the district hospital, lectures on tropical pathology and community health care to the Kikwit Nursing School, and supervision of thirty-one rural health centers that served a population of over 500,000.  After achieving his masters’ degree, Dr. Nkinsi worked for Save the Children in Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon

In 1996, Dr. Nkinsi joined CARE as Health Sector Coordinator in Cameroon.  In addition to his responsibilities in Cameroon, Dr. Nkinsi was nominated Reproductive Health Advisor for CARE country offices in the West Africa Region, including Madagascar and Haiti in 1998. He joined CARE’s headquarters in Atlanta, GA in 1999 as the Director for the CARE-CDC Health Initiative (CCHI). He was responsible for leading, cultivating and sustaining a major strategic long-term partnership between CARE and the CDC on a variety of innovative global health programs. Dr. Nkinsi also worked as Senior Technical Advisor for the HIV/AIDS unit at CARE, which provides technical support to over fifty projects with HIV/AIDS components in twenty countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

Dr. Nkinsi joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in November 2002 as Senior Program Officer for HIV, TB and Reproductive Health in the Global Health program. During his tenure at BMGF, Dr. Nkinsi has made major contributions to a broad range of HIV/AIDS initiatives. He helped to conceive and design two of the largest BMGF-supported programs:  AIDS Initiative in India (Avahan) and the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) in Botswana. Dr. Nkinsi also served as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of ACHAP.

Dr. Nkinsi was also responsible for technical and managerial support of other HIV/AIDS country programs including AIDS Prevention in Nigeria (APIN), which is now a stand-alone organization with independent funding. He also led the development of the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), an Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program now operating in 13 sub Saharan African countries.

Dr. Nkinsi led the male circumcision working group at BMGF. In this capacity, Dr. Nkinsi worked very closely with key global partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the World Bank and Ministries of Health in the fourteen priority countries to accelerate the scale up of male circumcision. He was also responsible for the Champions for an HIV-Free Generation in Africa, an initiative which advocates for the promotion of HIV prevention. Led by the former President of Botswana, Mr. Festus Mogae, Champions for an HIV-Free Generation is a group of former African presidents and other influential personalities which aims to mobilize high-level leadership in renewed and revitalized responses to HIV and AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa (www.hivfreechampions.org).

Dr. Luke Nkinsi joined the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation in June 2012 as Project Director of ‘Strengthening Surveillance of Infectious Diseases in Central Africa (SURVAC) Project. SURVAC is a five-year project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Partners agencies include the CDC Foundation, CDC, WHO (IHR, HQ) and WHO/AFRO.